Shim'Tar
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Shim'Tar is a fictional character owned by
DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
and was co-created by penciler Chris Marrinan and writer
George Pérez George Pérez (; June 9, 1954 – May 6, 2022) was an American comic book artist and writer, who worked primarily as a penciller. He came to prominence in the 1970s penciling ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' and ''The Avengers (co ...
. According to the ''
Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...
'' comic book, the name Shim'Tar can also be a title given to the chief warrior of the fictional
Bana-Mighdall This page list the locations in the DC Universe, the shared universe setting of DC Comics. Sites * the Arrowcave – The former base of operations of the Green Arrow and Speedy. * Avernus Cemetery – A burial ground located in Central City for ...
tribe of
Amazons In Greek mythology, the Amazons (Ancient Greek: Ἀμαζόνες ''Amazónes'', singular Ἀμαζών ''Amazōn'', via Latin ''Amāzon, -ŏnis'') are portrayed in a number of ancient epic poems and legends, such as the Labours of Hercules, ...
.


Fictional character biography

Rather than a single person, "Shim'Tar" is an interchangeable title for the chief warrior of the
Bana-Mighdall This page list the locations in the DC Universe, the shared universe setting of DC Comics. Sites * the Arrowcave – The former base of operations of the Green Arrow and Speedy. * Avernus Cemetery – A burial ground located in Central City for ...
Amazons In Greek mythology, the Amazons (Ancient Greek: Ἀμαζόνες ''Amazónes'', singular Ἀμαζών ''Amazōn'', via Latin ''Amāzon, -ŏnis'') are portrayed in a number of ancient epic poems and legends, such as the Labours of Hercules, ...
. This is similar to how the title of
Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...
is classified as the chief warrior of the Themyscirian tribe of Amazons. The title of Shim'Tar is chosen through the Tournament of the Crown, a rite of combat.


Original Shim'Tar

Wonder Woman's initial contact with the first Shim'tar occurred when her
Lasso of Truth The Lasso of Truth is a weapon wielded by DC Comics superhero Wonder Woman, Princess Diana of Themyscira. It is also known as the Lariat of Truth, the Magic Lasso, the Lasso of Hestia or the Golden Perfect. It was created by William Moulton Mars ...
was stolen by her enemy The Cheetah. The chase led them both to
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
. There, Diana found a lost tribe of Amazons in the city of Bana-Mighdall. These Amazons, she discovered, were apparently descendants to her aunt Antiope. A dissident of that tribe named Faruka plotted to become that tribe's queen. She chose a powerful unnamed Amazon to act as her enforcer. Calling herself Shim'Tar, this warrior had cybernetic implants that not only greatly enhanced her strength, but also provided her with laser capabilities and durability. After killing the desert Amazon tribe's regent queen, Shim'Tar battled Diana at Faruka's request. She proved to be more than a match for Diana. Diana was unable to defeat the superior Shim'Tar in direct combat; in much of the battle, Shim'Tar gives Diana a brutal and thorough beating. Diana barely managed to defeat Shim'Tar and was only able to defeat her by ensnaring her in her golden lasso. She discovered that the Shim'Tar warrior gained the majority of her enormous power by wearing the
Golden Girdle of Gaea The Golden Girdle of Gaea is a fictional object depicted in the DC Comics book ''Wonder Woman''. Originally created by William Moulton Marston as the Magic Girdle of Aphrodite from its tradition as originating from the Girdle of Aphrodite or Venus ...
; it is possible that the original Shim'tar's superiority over Diana was due to Shim'Tar's possession of the Girdle, in addition to her cybernetic implants. This Shim'Tar seemingly died when the Amazon city was attacked by the Egyptian military and Olympian god
Hermes Hermes (; grc-gre, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travellers, thieves, merchants, and orato ...
, causing a massive explosion. This first Shim'Tar's true identity remains a mystery to this day. The writer who conceived the Shim'Tar character (
George Pérez George Pérez (; June 9, 1954 – May 6, 2022) was an American comic book artist and writer, who worked primarily as a penciller. He came to prominence in the 1970s penciling ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' and ''The Avengers (co ...
) seems to have created the character as a
Post-Crisis "Crisis on Infinite Earths" is a 1985 American comic book crossover storyline published by DC Comics. The series, written by Marv Wolfman and pencilled by George Pérez, was first serialized as a 12-issue limited series from April 1985 to Ma ...
version, or alternate reality version, of an already existing Wonder Woman villain named
Doctor Cyber Doctor Cyber is a fictional character appearing in DC Comics publications and related media, commonly as a recurring adversary of the superhero Wonder Woman. She first appeared late in the Silver Age of Comics in 1968's ''Wonder Woman'' (volume ...
. This is verified by her position in a poster he created called the ''Wonder Woman Through the Ages Poster''. Shim'Tar is placed right above the Pre-Crisis version of Doctor Cyber, maintaining a variant character pattern that is visible between other Wonder Woman villains.http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CXo3IrWojMo/UC5b49D2Z-I/AAAAAAAAAvo/wtA4p-_o7Hw/s1600/wonder%2Bages%2Bblack%2Band%2Bwhite.bmp Additionally, Shim'tar's upbringing and heritage as a champion within a city protected by a mystical barrier (a tornadic magical sandstorm), her mysterious connection to Hipoltya and Wonder Woman, due to her curly hair, skin colour (until then, Shim'tar was the only Bana mighdalian possessing white skin which resembles a reversal of Nu'bia's background that made her the black sister of Wonder Woman and the only Pre-Crisis amazon with black skin) and masked appearance, seem to be references to another character of Pre-Crisis continuity, Nu'Bia, that also made her debut using an armour with a concealing helm similar to Cyber's later visual in the Eighties. In Pre-Crisis continuity, Nu'Bia was kidnapped by Mars, taken to an island concealed within a mystical fog and brainwashed through the use of a magical ring given by the War God, a fact that is mirrored by the possession of Post Crisis Hipolyta by the magical metallic patina.


Queen Hippolyta

During the ''
War of the Gods ''War of the Gods'' is an album by soul singer Billy Paul. The album was produced by Gamble & Huff, Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff and arranged by Bobby Martin (producer), Bobby Martin and Lenny Pakula. Released in 1973, the album reached number 12 o ...
'' storyline, the witch
Circe Circe (; grc, , ) is an Magician (paranormal), enchantress and a minor goddess in ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion. She is either a daughter of the Titans, Titan Helios and the Oceanid nymph Perse (mythology), Perse ...
put a spell on
Queen Hippolyta In Classical Greek mythology, Hippolyta, or Hippolyte (; grc-gre, Ἱππολύτη ''Hippolytē'') was a daughter of Ares and Otrera, queen of the Amazons, and a sister of Antiope and Melanippe. She wore her father Ares' ''zoster'', the Gre ...
and dressed her in the armor of the first Shim'Tar. The Shim'Tar armour was magically placed as a nanotech metallic patina in a goblet. When Queen Hippolyta drank from it, the armour possessed her. Under Circe's spell, Hippolyta and her daughter Diana fought. Not knowing that her own mother was hidden under the armour's mask, Diana fought back, each trying to kill one another. The spell eventually wore off allowing Hippolyta to come to her senses. It was because of this event that Hippolyta developed an initial hatred for the Amazons of Bana-Mighdall as they aided Circe in her plans.


Akila and Artemis

Eventually a young amazon named Akila assumed the role of the new Shim'Tar. As opposed to the previous Shim'Tars, the title had become adopted by the Bana-Mighdallian Amazons as the station of "protector" within their tribe. Akila proved to be an asset to both the Bana tribe as well as to Wonder Woman and her tribe of Amazons. Akila was specially chosen by Queen Hippolyta to act as the Bana tribe's representative. Hippolyta provided Akila the means to attend the
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
in Man's World in order to further her education. During her schooling she had become an engineer and so, she redesigned her armor using a combination of technology and magic. When the gorilla Queen Abu-Gita and her hordes tried to invade Paradise Island, Akila helped Diana and
Artemis In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified wit ...
defeat their attack. Due to civil unrest between the two tribes residing on Themyscira, the Themyscirian Amazons and Amazons of Bana-Mighdall declared war upon each other. During this battle the still young Akila was unable to defend either tribe due to her inexperience and blatant uninterest in becoming a warrior. She was hurt during battle and agreed to hand over the title and armor of "Shim'Tar" to Artemis. Artemis acted as her tribe's Shim'Tar until Queen Hippolyta abolished the Amazon's Monarchy rule, after which Artemis set her position as Shim'Tar aside to become the Amazon nation's co-ruler beside the Amazon General Philippus. In the Rebirth, the title of the Shim'Tar reappears and is taken by a new version of Akila, wielder of the Bow of Ra and Artemis' best friend and her former lover.


References


External links


''Amazon Archives - Wonder Woman #34''

The Unofficial Shim'Tar I BiographyThe Unofficial Shim'Tar III Biography
{{Wonder Woman Comics characters introduced in 1989 Characters created by George Pérez DC Comics Amazons DC Comics characters with superhuman strength DC Comics female superheroes DC Comics LGBT superheroes DC Comics cyborgs Fictional lesbians Fictional women soldiers and warriors